© REUTERS
(New York, NY) – More than 10 years after the event devastated the Tri-state area, we’re learning more about Hurricane Sandy’s impact. And that has manifested itself in various ways — perhaps most notably with the salt water having seeped into local rail tunnels — causing significant damage. In fact, the Gateway Tunnel project, which in part connects to post-Sandy repairs, is now on shaking footing in turns of its funding.
But the point remains that Superstorm Sandy’s storm surge led to a lot of property damage. That was perhaps especially true along the Jersey Shore, where numerous homes were washed away. Now, data shows there is an even more abstract aspect of Sandy’s impact — on our health.
Findings from Weill Cornell Medicine and New York University show older adults living in areas that were flooded by Sandy faced a 5% higher risk of heart disease — for up to five years after the storm hit in 2012.
The study published in JAMA Network Open highlights vulnerability from hurricane exposure to longer-term cardiovascular disease risk. The researchers looked at Medicare data from over 120,000 people 65 and older in New Jersey, New York City, and Connecticut in the five years after the storm.
